the.com/souvenir
proof you went somewhere, doomed to gather dust as proof you went somewhere
means A small object kept as a reminder of a place you visited, a person, or an event.
from From French souvenir, 'to remember,' which comes from Latin subvenire — literally 'to come up' (sub- 'up' + venire 'to come'), as a memory comes up into the mind. The same venire 'to come' powers a whole family of English words like 'convene,' 'venue,' and 'adventure.'
- french root
- means to come to mind, a remembering
- snow globes
- patented in 1900s Paris, water once held antifreeze
- grand tour
- wealthy youths looted Europe for keepsakes since 1600s
- airport tax
- identical magnets cost triple near departure gates
- shrunken heads
- fake ones mass-produced for tourists by the thousands
for instance
eiffel tower replica — millions sold annually at paris gift shops, the iconic 6-inch metal tower
snow globe — originated in austria 1900s, now sold in virtually every tourist destination worldwide
niagara falls miniature — classic souvenir from niagara falls, ontario since the 1800s, depicting the falls in ceramic